National Payments Corporation of India

Key points about new products:

• While Credit Line: It would enable pre-sanctioned credit lines from banks via UPI.
• UPI LITE X 
  • It would facilitate offline payments and UPI Tap & Pay would enhance QR Code and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology adoption for digital payment. 
  • In addition to the conventional Scan and Pay method, users now have the option to simply tap NFC-enabled QR codes at merchant locations to complete their payments.
• Hello! UPI 
  • Conversational Payments on UPI would enable users to make voice-enabled UPI payments via UPI Apps, telecom calls, and IoT devices in Hindi and English, and will soon be available in several other regional languages. 
• BillPay Connect : Conversational Bill Payments, payments can be made across India through a nationalised number made available by Bharat BillPay.

About National Payments Corporation of India:

• It is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. 
• It is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, to create a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India.
• It has been incorporated as a “Not for Profit” Company under the provisions of Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 (now Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013).
• It is promoted by ten major banks, including the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Citibank, Bank of Baroda, and HSBC.
• The regulatory board of the NPCI, headquartered in Mumbai, includes nominees from the RBI along with nominees from ten core promoter banks. 

Q1) What is Near Field Communication?

Near Field Communication, is a short-range wireless communication technology that allows devices to communicate with each other when they are in close proximity, typically within a few centimeters. NFC operates at high-frequency radio waves (13.56 MHz) and is a subset of RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) technology.

Source: NPCI unveils a suite of digital-payment products